Political punditry with liberal slant. As well as news and current events.

Wednesday, December 19, 2012

Roadside Rape By Texas Police Caught On Tape

(See the full uncensored police video at the bottom of the page)

I am a former New York City police officer. Crime is crime, no matter who perpetrates it. Being a police officer does not put you above the law. You cannot commit a crime to prevent one. In Texas, two women were pulled over for discharging a cigarette on the highway. After being pulled over, suspected of possessing marijuana, they were forced to submit to an extreme cavity search on the side of the road in full view of passersby. When your genitalia is penetrated against your will, that is rape. Rape is rape, even if you are a cop.

I have a wife, mother, sister, daughter, nieces, female cousins and a granddaughter; I can’t imagine this happening to any of them. An assault on women anywhere is an assault on all women. Please speak up about this injustice. Contact your President, State and Local Representatives, and the Texas Department of Public Safety at (281) 486-8242. We must make sure this doesn’t happen again. Below is the news report and actual police car video. Warning it is disturbing.

Update: Last night, 12/19/12, one of the troopers was suspended with pay. This occurred on July 13. 2012. The article doesn't say which trooper or why.

A Texas woman and her niece are suing a pair of Texas state troopers and the director of the Texas Department of Public Safety for what they claim was an unconstitutional and "humiliating" roadside body cavity search earlier this year.

According to NBC News, 38-year-old Angel Dobbs and 24-year-old Ashley Dobbs from Irving, Tex., were driving along Highway 161 on July 13, when they were stopped for allegedly littering by State Trooper David Farrell.

"In the dashcam video released by the women and their attorney, Farrell can be heard telling the women they would both be cited for littering for throwing cigarette butts out of the car," the news agency reports.

After stopping the women, Farrell -- who claims to have "smelled marijuana" in their vehicle -- reportedly questioned the women about the drug and searched their car for traces of pot.

Angel and Ashley claim that they were then subjected to a very public and "humiliating" roadside body cavity search. They both claim that they were not warned beforehand that the "intrusive" search was about to take place.

KVUE writes:

The lawsuit alleges that Helleson used her fingers to search inside each woman's genital areas. The suit also says that the trooper did not change the glove she was wearing and performed the search without consent.

The body cavity search is also said to have taken place "on the side of a public freeway illuminated by lights from the police vehicle in full view of the passing public," the women alleged, according to KVUE.

"I was molested, I was violated, I was humiliated in front of other traffic," said Angel. "I had to watch my niece go through the same thing and I could not protect her at that point."

Angel also alleges that while Helleson searched her anus, the state trooper "irritated one of the cysts she suffers from," causing her "severe and continuing pain and discomfort."

"I don't think anybody needs to have to feel, or go through what we went through," Ashley told NBC News. "It crosses my mind every day. It's humiliating."

Scott H. Palmer, the women's attorney, said that the searches were "basically a sexual assault" on the side of a road, according to Dallas Morning News.

Watch full uncensored police video below.
WARNING: Some viewers may find content in this video disturbing.

this is why idiots who do not know the law should not be police officers. I hope they sued the sh!t out of the police department and those officers individually.My support for those poor girls!Nice thong on that brunette

Clearly an abuse of power. Having recording camera on your dashboard is really a must this days. Not only for the sake of others but mainly for you. Used and new cars in Texas should have the privilege of having those as part of their car.